Exploring, 21st Birthday and One Month on the CDI!

I am SO sorry it has been so long since my last post, but things have been a little crazy around here to say the least! Lots to cover in this post. My 21st birthday went a LOT better than I had anticipated. Every year, there has kind of been some major catastrophe on my birthday. This year was the first year that was catastrophe free! Well, it wasn't totally free of problems, but overall, I had an amazing day. It turns out that I was actually getting Benadryl in my pump for the 2 weeks prior that I was allergic to, causing problems with my dosing (I didn't even know that you could be allergic to Benadryl, supposedly it was loaded with preservatives). That was straightened out a few days after my birthday, but caused me to have chipmunk swollen cheeks on top of my steroid "moon face" on my birthday. I'm not too happy with all the pictures, but an awesome day makes up for it :) I went to lunch with my step mom, got my nails, hair and make up done, and a close friend from school came down in the afternoon to spend my birthday with me, and then to dinner. Thank you all for all of your birthday wishes and making it a special day as well :) Some pics below:

Ordering my first drink and getting carded (which I couldn't actually drink)

My friend and I who shlepped out to me to make my day special!

I am continuing my online ASL class, and it is a lot harder than I thought. However, I seem to be doing really well so far, and I am pleasantly surprised with how much I am learning given that it is an online class. The formatting of the class is kind of wonky-- we only have 24 hours once a week to complete a 30 question quiz and a 100 question exam, in addition to weekly online lectures and videos. It is a 6 week course, so that will take me through late July. Tutoring has slowed down significantly since most people are on summer break, but I am keeping it up in the background. That has given me a little more time to do some more IV cap art, but I am still managing to way over do things, particularly the last two or three days. I made the cap art which I will include in a picture below, and cookie monster cupcakes. I am continuing to work on slowing down, getting nutrition, and navigating all of these transitions.

Last weekend, I finally got the opportunity to travel away from home for the first time overnight since starting the CDI, or Continuous Diphenhydramine/Benadryl Infusion. It was certainly overwhelming and very taxing physically and emotionally, but overall was a very positive experience, and totally worthwhile. It was great to see lots of friends and family, and to get to put my feet in the sand for a couple of minutes (and congratulations to Daniel and Asher!).  Additionally, it was the one month anniversary of being on the CDI, which has dramatically improved my quality of life. I am excited to see what the future brings! There are lots of transitions and changes coming up, so stay tuned!